New damselfly hosts and species identification of an aquatic parasitoid Hydrophylita emporos (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) in Taiwan

Chun Yu Lin, Yu Hsun Hsu, Jo Fan Wang, Chung Ping Lin*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The host–parasitoid relationship and species identity of aquatic parasitoids of two damselflies Coeliccia cyanomelas (Platycnemididae) and Psolodesmus mandarinus dorothea (Calopterygidae) from Fushan and Lienhuachih in Taiwan were studied using morphological characters and DNA barcoding sequences. The parasitoids reared from the damselflies’ eggs, and the field-collected parasitoids, were morphologically identified as Hydrophylita emporos (Trichogrammatidae), a recently described parasitoid of the damselfly P. m. mandarinus from Northern Taiwan. The CO1 (cytochrome c oxidase I) gene tree supported the identification as H. emporos, as well as all parasitoid samples from C. cyanomelas, P. m. dorothea and P. m. mandarinus. The sampled H. emporos populations did not differ genetically despite their different host associations. However, some genetic differences were found between H. emporos populations from Northern and Central Taiwan, indicating that the dispersal of H. emporos may be limited by geographical distances. Our results suggest that H. emporos can parasitise not only closely related sister subspecies, P. m. mandarinus and P. m. dorothea, but also phylogenetically distant species of another damselfly family, C. cyanomelas. This is the first record of multiple damselfly hosts for the aquatic parasitoid genus Hydrophylita. This finding implies that the host range of H. emporos and congeneric species may be broader than previously thought.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2195-2205
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Natural History
Volume53
Issue number35-36
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019 Sept 25

Keywords

  • CO1
  • Coeliccia cyanomelas
  • DNA barcode
  • Odonata
  • Psolodesmus mandarinus
  • taxonomy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'New damselfly hosts and species identification of an aquatic parasitoid Hydrophylita emporos (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) in Taiwan'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this